Hurricane Ike

      On September 4, 2008, Cuba was hit by its costliest storm in history.  What was the name of this monster?  Hurricane Ike. Hurricane Ike started as a tropical storm on September 1st in the Cape Verde islands. In the early morning of September 4th, Ike became a category 4 hurricane with wind speeds at a maximum of 145 mph and pressure of 935 mbar, making it the most powerful storm to hit the Atlantic of 2008.  Ike made two landfalls.  The first of these landfalls was a category 4 and the second was a category 1, that landed two days from the first day.  Ike made it's final landfall near Galveston, Texas on September 13, 2008.  The winds of Ike extended 120 miles from the center of the hurricane.

Below is a satellite image of Hurricane Ike covering half of Cuba, as a category 4 storm.

Ike was said to have caused at least 195 deaths. This monster of a hurricane had a total of $37.6 billion in damages.

Above is a map showing the intensity of hurricane Ike.

To see an animation of the formation and deformation of Hurricane Ike click HERE.